Have questions you would like answered?
Kindly email us your questions and we will be happy to answer them, as well as add them to our FAQ section.
General Questions
Does Stone RMT Provide Registered Massage Therapies?
Yes, Stone RMT provides Registered Massage Therapy and can provide a receipt that can be submitted to your Extended Health Care Provider. Stone RMT can also help with direct billing to most Extended Health Care Insurance Providers.
Does Stone RMT Do Direct Billing To Insurance?
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Stone RMT works with most Insurance companies - more information can be found on the "Insurance page"
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Should you have any questions/concerns about whether or not we can direct bill to your extended health care insurance provider, we are happy to help and can be contacted as follows:
Do you do Home Visits? Or Workplace Massage Therapy?
Home, office, event, retirement home, rehab center, and disability center visits cannot be booked through our online booking site, however, please email or call for more information or to provided you with a Quote, as each and every on-site visit is unique and therefore, fees vary. However, Stone RMT can still provide an receipt for this treatment or direct bill to your insurance company. Restrictions may apply.
*we are currenlty not doing mobile massage therapy until COVID-19 is resolved. We will keep this section updated accordingly.
COVID-19 Related
Will You Be Closing?
May 26 2020 effective: Gradual Restart of Deferred Services: Updated Government Order
Ontario was previously in a situation where healthcare professionals were only allowed to provide emergency/urgent care through a government ordered closure of non-essential businesses.
The government’s order was recently updated. With the updated order (Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #2 for Regulated Health Professionals, attached) Massage Therapists (RMTs) are now permitted to gradually restart Massage Therapy services.
Directive #2 allows for a gradual restart of services to be carried out with adherence to guidance from the health profession’s regulatory college. CMTO is recommending that RMTs resume practice gradually because the Directive encourages healthcare providers to limit the number of in-person visits for the safety of healthcare providers and their patients/clients.
- Stone RMT will be opening in 1-2 weeks following all procedures and guidelines set out by the CMTO and the Ontarion Ministry of Health.
January 14 2021 effective 12:01 am:
Province of Ontario declares a "state of emergency."
As it stands, Registered Massage Therapy has been declared "Essential" therefore, massage therapy will continue. RMTs should only be providing in-person treatment when the anticipated benefits of treatment outweigh the risks to the client and the RMT.
StoneRMT is following all Ontario Health and CMTO guidelines and best practices.
December 26 2020 effective 12:01 am:
Durham shuts down. As it stands, Registered Massage Therapy has been declared "Essential" therefore, massage therapy will continue. RMTs should only be providing in-person treatment when the anticipated benefits of treatment outweigh the risks to the client and the RMT.
StoneRMT is following all Ontario Health and CMTO guidelines and best practices.
March 17 2020 update:
We will be suspending all Massage Therapy Services, effective immediately, for your safety. CMTO's instructions are to suspend non-essential services, until further notice. Therefore, I will be contacting you on a case-by-case basis, to cancel/reschedule, or make arrangements if you are in EMERGENCY pain, to treat you (only after CAREFUL SCREENING). Thank you for your cooperation during this time.
Regarding CMTO's Instructions: we are following ALL instructions provided by the CMTO and the Department of Health Canada.
If it is decided to schedule a treatment, on a case-by-case basis, rest assured, we, RMTs, are following the steps we are required to follow for infection prevention practices at all times, in all practice settings - this has been emailed to us, by our Governing Body, with clear instructions and guidelines, and we are taking this very seriously.
In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to monitor the situation and pass along any pertinent information we gather.
I encourage you to be responsible and to make your own decision about your appointments. Please do what you feel comfortable with and what makes the most sense for you and your family. However I also encourage you to remain calm and remember that a healthy body is a healthy body. If you are in PAIN, call me, even if I cannot assist you in person, I certainly will provide my advice and expertise over the phone. 905-439-7768. This is a time to HELP one another.
We ask that if you are not feeling well, stay home, and contact us to reschedule. Please update us with your cancellation as early as possible (24 hours ideally), so that if deemed necessary, we can provide the appointment to someone who may desperately need an appointment and manage our time accordingly. During these difficult times, we will be waiving any late cancellation fees, as we fully understand the circumstances. All we ask is for you to respectfully let us know as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns about any future appointments, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are keeping a close eye on correspondence I receive from my governing body, as well as Health Care Canada directed to all Health Care Practitioners.
Thank you for your cooperation, and your continued support.
Will you be taking patients at all, even if in pain? during COVID
Archived: this question was asked between March-May 2020 regarding COVID-19 concerns and closing:
The short answer is, no. We are only allowed to help those in Emergency types of pain [which is vague] however, what is deemed as an emergency, is not in the Scope of Practice of a Registered Massage Therapist.
The CMTO's instructions are to completely shut down Massage Therapy, until further notice. We must all take the necessary steps to protect one-another, take precaution, in order to shut down this virus spread, together. Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, we will be shutting down our services, until further notice.
Screen Calls: we will be conducting screening calls to patients holding appointments currently, on a daily basis, and asking that we cancel/reschedule their appointment to a later date.
Regarding the CMTO's Instructions: we are following ALL instructions provided by the CMTO and the Department of Health Canada.
If it is decided to schedule a treatment, on a case-by-case basis, [which at this time is rare to none] rest assured, we, RMTs, are following the steps we are required to follow for infection prevention practices at all times, in all practice settings - this has been emailed to us, by our Governing Body, with clear instructions and guidelines, and we are taking this very seriously.
Thank you for your cooperation, and your continued support.
COVID-19 Updates (timeline)
What are the CMTO, your Governing Body's Instructions at this time?
March 21 2022 effective:
Changes to Mask Mandates
On March 9, 2022, the Ontario Government announced changes to masking mandates, and the lifting of any remaining public health measures, directives and orders by the end of April. As society adjusts to a new normal, Registered Massage Therapists (RMTs/MTs) will want to prioritize client-centred care and risk assessments in daily practice. CMTO would like to provide an update to RMTs and clients on what is changing in the coming weeks:
CMTO Guidance: As of March 21, 2022, CMTO’s COVID-19 Practice Guidance for Massage Therapists is no longer in effect. Below is a summary of guidance for RMTs. More information is on CMTO’s COVID-19 webpage.
Masking: As of March 21, masks will no longer be required, except for public transit, health care settings, long-term care homes and congregate care settings. CMTO considers all RMT practice settings to be health care settings for the purposes of the masking mandate. RMTs will continue to wear surgical/procedural masks and clients will be expected to wear a mask until April 27, 2022.
Clients may have strong and different views on masking, making for difficult conversations. RMTs should continue conducting risk assessments
before every client interaction and only provide treatment when the anticipated benefits outweigh the risks. If clients are unable to mask, RMTs can use their risk assessment to determine whether to postpone treatment or use additional personal protective equipment.
If mandatory masking is removed on April 27, 2022 (as anticipated), CMTO expects that some clients will wish to remain masked, some will want their RMT to be masked, and some RMTs may request that a client wear a mask. RMTs should use a client-centred approach, mask if they wish and mask at the client’s request. RMTs should communicate any masking preferences ahead of the appointment to allow clients to prepare accordingly. Risk assessment, careful communication, tolerance and professional judgement will continue to guide RMTs’ decisions on treatment and use of personal protective equipment.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPAC) including hand hygiene: RMTs should follow the requirements in CMTO’s Practice Standard- Infection Prevention and Control, Practice Standard- Safety and Risk Management and Public Health Ontario’s IPAC guidance.
Client Screening: Screening needs to take place once - just before treatment. RMTs should continue screening clients using the Ministry of Health’s Patient Screening Guidance document
September 7 2021 effective: Full Directive #6 here
Required Precautions and Procedures
Every Covered Organization must establish, implement and ensure compliance with a COVID-19 vaccination policy requiring its employees, staff, contractors, volunteers and students to provide:
a) proof of full vaccination[1] against COVID-19; or
b) written proof of a medical reason, provided by a physician or registered nurse in the extended class that sets out:
(i) a documented medical reason for not being fully vaccinated against COVID-19, and
(ii) the effective time-period for the medical reason; or
c) proof of completing an educational session approved by the Covered Organization about the benefits of COVID-19 vaccination prior to declining vaccination for any reason other than a medical reason.
The approved session must, at minimum address:
i. how COVID-19 vaccines work;
ii. vaccine safety related to the development of the COVID-19 vaccines;
iii. the benefits of vaccination against COVID-19;
iv. risks of not being vaccinated against COVID-19; and
v. possible side effects of COVID-19 vaccination.
August 26 2021 effective:
the Ministry of Health (MOH) released an updated version of the COVID-19 Patient Screening Guidance Document (Version 5).
Screening questions have changed to reflect emerging evidence about COVID-19 and are for use by RMTs during active screening.
January 14 2021 effective 12:01 am:
Province of Ontario declares a "state of emergency."
As it stands, Registered Massage Therapy has been declared "Essential" therefore, massage therapy will continue. RMTs should only be providing in-person treatment when the anticipated benefits of treatment outweigh the risks to the client and the RMT.
StoneRMT is following all Ontario Health and CMTO guidelines and best practices.
December 26 2020 effective 12:01 am:
Durham shuts down. As it stands, Registered Massage Therapy has been declared "Essential" therefore, massage therapy will continue. RMTs should only be providing in-person treatment when the anticipated benefits of treatment outweigh the risks to the client and the RMT.
StoneRMT is following all Ontario Health and CMTO guidelines and best practices.
In an effort to prevent and control the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Ontario has extended the Declaration of Emergency until May 12, 2020. The closure of non-essential businesses, put in place under the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act has currently been extended until April 23, 2020 (and may be extended past this date). For more information, please visit the Government of Ontario’s website.
The guidance for Massage Therapists (MTs/RMTs) remains as follows: under the non-essential business closure all healthcare professionals are restricted from providing anything other than emergency/urgent care. RMTs should not practice because the practice of Massage Therapy is not emergency/urgent care.
Previous notes from the CMTO:
Public safety is our number one concern. CMTO is strongly recommending that all non-essential Massage Therapy treatment (using your professional judgement for what you deem as essential to the client) be suspended immediately, until further notice.
CMTO believes this is an important step in protecting the health of Ontarians, and aligns with social distancing recommendations made by the Government of Ontario and Government of Canada.
We will keep you informed with updates as they come.
Thank you.
May 26 2020 effective: Gradual Restart of Deferred Services: Updated Government Order
Ontario was previously in a situation where healthcare professionals were only allowed to provide emergency/urgent care through a government ordered closure of non-essential businesses.
The government’s order was recently updated. With the updated order (Ontario Chief Medical Officer of Health’s Directive #2 for Regulated Health Professionals, attached) Massage Therapists (RMTs) are now permitted to gradually restart Massage Therapy services.
Directive #2 allows for a gradual restart of services to be carried out with adherence to guidance from the health profession’s regulatory college. CMTO is recommending that RMTs resume practice gradually because the Directive encourages healthcare providers to limit the number of in-person visits for the safety of healthcare providers and their patients/clients.
- Stone RMT will be opening in 1-2 weeks following all procedures and guidelines set out by the CMTO and the Ontarion Ministry of Health.
March 17 2020 update:
We will be suspending all Massage Therapy Services, effective immediately, for your safety. CMTO's instructions are to suspend non-essential services, until further notice. Therefore, I will be contacting you on a case-by-case basis, to cancel/reschedule, or make arrangements if you are in EMERGENCY pain, to treat you (only after CAREFUL SCREENING). Thank you for your cooperation during this time.
Regarding CMTO's Instructions: we are following ALL instructions provided by the CMTO and the Department of Health Canada.
If it is decided to schedule a treatment, on a case-by-case basis, rest assured, we, RMTs, are following the steps we are required to follow for infection prevention practices at all times, in all practice settings - this has been emailed to us, by our Governing Body, with clear instructions and guidelines, and we are taking this very seriously.
In the coming days and weeks, we will continue to monitor the situation and pass along any pertinent information we gather.
I encourage you to be responsible and to make your own decision about your appointments. Please do what you feel comfortable with and what makes the most sense for you and your family. However I also encourage you to remain calm and remember that a healthy body is a healthy body. If you are in PAIN, call me, even if I cannot assist you in person, I certainly will provide my advice and expertise over the phone. 905-439-7768. This is a time to HELP one another.
We ask that if you are not feeling well, stay home, and contact us to reschedule. Please update us with your cancellation as early as possible (24 hours ideally), so that if deemed necessary, we can provide the appointment to someone who may desperately need an appointment and manage our time accordingly. During these difficult times, we will be waiving any late cancellation fees, as we fully understand the circumstances. All we ask is for you to respectfully let us know as soon as possible.
If you have any questions or concerns about any future appointments, please do not hesitate to contact us.
We are keeping a close eye on correspondence I receive from my governing body, as well as Health Care Canada directed to all Health Care Practitioners.
Thank you for your cooperation, and your continued support.
Credit Card Policy /Security Policy
Credit Card On File (CCOF) Policies
Stone RMT will safeguard the confidentiality and security of the information we obtain from you. This notice describes our privacy policy as it relates to the collection, protection and disclosure of such information resulting from credit card transactions only.
Collection of Information
Stone RMT will collect and use information obtained from credit card transactions only for business purposes. These business purposes may vary depending upon the circumstances. With CCOF, the patient provides their credit card information to pay their bill. The card on file can be used for copays, deductibles, non-covered services paid out of pocket, or for portions of bills not covered after insurance has paid out its portion. (Method of payment for balances instructions to be entered in patient file, if preferred method of payment is different than the credit card on file).
We respect and are committed to protecting your privacy. We may collect personally identifiable information when you visit our site. We also automatically receive and record information on our server logs from your browser including your IP address, cookie information and the page(s) you visited.
Protecting Your Credit Card Information
The credit card information provided by you to Stone RMT will be stored in a confidential manner. Our employees may access such information only when there is an appropriate business reason to do so, such as when a balance is to be paid or a refund must be issued back to the credit card. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect your information, and our employees are required to follow these privacy standards.
Disclosure of Your Information
Stone RMT does not disclose any nonpublic information (such as credit card number and their expiration dates) about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as required by law. We disclose information only when it is necessary for the conduct of College, State or Federal government business, or under circumstances where disclosure is required by law. Information may also be disclosed for audit purposes, to regulatory agencies or for other general administrative services. We do not disclose information about you to other entities who may want to sell their products to you. We will not sell your personally identifiable information to anyone.
Transaction Security
Stone RMT, through our third party payment provider Jane Payments, uses Secure Socket Layer (SSL) protocol to ensure transaction security. Your payment and personal information is always safe. The SSL software used by Jane Payments is the industry standard and among the best software available today for secure commerce transactions. It encrypts all of your personal information, including credit card number, name, and address, so that it cannot be read over the internet.
Refunds
- A refund for the purchases charged to a credit card must be reimbursed to the credit card account charged for the purchase
- Credit card payments can be made via the Jane Payments Payment Service
What is Jane Payments?
Jane Payments is the third party vendor through JaneApp with whom Stone RMT has contracted to provide secure online payments and with whom Stone RMT additionally has contracted to process online credit card payments on patient accounts.
Why are we using a third party vendor?
Credit card processing fees have been increasing at an alarming rate. The vendor, Jane Payments, has the expertise in online payment systems to meet all security and privacy issues and meets the banking and credit card industry compliance requirements. Our contract with them ensures that the processes are compliant with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley (GLB) Act.
Privacy Policy
Including our SMS Policy and Disclosure
Your StoneRMT Clinic
Written Statement of Policy
Privacy of personal information is an important principle to StoneRMT. We are committed to collecting, using and disclosing personal information responsibly and only to the extent necessary for the goods and services we provide. This document describes our privacy policies.
WHAT IS PERSONAL INFORMATION?
Personal information is information about identifiable individuals. Personal information includes information that relates to:
an individual’s personal characteristics (e.g., gender, age, home address or telephone number, family status);
health (e.g., health history, health conditions, health services received by them);
activities and views (e.g., opinions expressed by an individual, an opinion or evaluation of an individual).
Personal information is different from business information (e.g., an individual’s business address and telephone number). This is not protected by privacy legislation.
WHO WE ARE
StoneRMT is a mulitidisciplinary clinic committed to the highest standards of care provided by Registered Massage Therapists, Fitness Instructors, Yoga Instructors and Acupuncturists.
WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: PRIMARY PURPOSES
Like all medical professions, we collect, use and disclose personal information in order to serve our patients. For our patients, the primary purpose for collecting personal information is to provide treatment. For example, we collect information about a client’s health history, including their family history, physical condition, function and social situation in order to help us assess what their health needs are, to advise them of their options and then to provide the health care they choose to have. A second primary purpose is to obtain a baseline of health and social information so that in providing on going health services we can identify changes that occur over time.
WE COLLECT PERSONAL INFORMATION: RELATED AND SECONDARY PURPOSES
Like most organizations, we also collect, use and disclose information for purposes related to or secondary to our primary purposes. The most common examples of our related and secondary purposes are as follows:
To invoice clients for goods or services that was not paid for at the time, to process credit card payments or to collect unpaid accounts.
Registered Massage Therapists and other practitioners are regulated by Associations, Boards and/or Provincial Regulatory Bodies. These Provincial Regulatory Bodies may inspect our records and interview our staff as a part of their regulatory activities in the public interest. In addition, as professionals, we will report serious misconduct, incompetence or incapacity of other practitioners, whether they belong to other organizations or our own. Also, our organization believes that it should report information suggesting serious illegal behavior to the authorities. External regulators have their own strict privacy obligations. Sometimes these reports include personal information about our clients, or other individuals, to support the concern (e.g., Canada Customs and Revenue Agency, Information and Privacy Commissioner, Human Rights Commission, etc.) have the authority to review our files and interview our staff as a part of their mandates. In these circumstances, we may consult with professionals (e.g., Lawyers, Accountants) who will investigate the matter and report back to us.
The cost of goods/services provided by the organization to patients is often paid for by third-parties (e.g., motor vehicle accident insurance, private extended health insurance). These third-party payers often have the client’s consent or legislative authority to direct us to collect and disclose to them certain information in order to demonstrate client entitlement to this funding.
Patients or other individuals we deal with may have questions about our goods or services after they have been received. We retain our client information for a mandatory minimum of ten years after the last contact to enable us to respond to those questions and provide these services.
BOOKING ONLINE: WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?
We do not collect any Personally Identifiable Information when browsing our site. We may, however, collect information such as time of day, browser type and IP address. This information is used to make improvements on our site.
When you book an appointment online, we collect personal information necessary to provide you with the service you have requested.
PROTECTING PERSONAL INFORMATION
We understand the importance of protecting personal information. For that reason, we have taken the following steps:
Paper information is either under supervision or secured in a locked or restricted area.
Electronic hardware is either under supervision or secure in a locked or restricted area at all times. In addition, passwords are used on computers. Paper information is transmitted through sealed, addressed envelopes or boxes by reputable companies.
Staff is trained to collect, use and disclose personal information only as necessary to fulfill their duties and in accordance with our privacy policy.
RETENTION AND DESTRUCTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION
We need to retain personal information for some time to ensure that we can answer any question the client may have about the services provided and for our own accountability to external regulatory bodies.
We keep our patient files for ten years.
We destroy paper files containing personal information by shredding. We destroy electronic information by deleting it and, when the hardware is discarded, we ensure that the hard drive is physically destroyed.
YOU CAN LOOK AT YOUR INFORMATION
With only a few exceptions, you have the right to see what personal information we hold about you. We can help you identify what records we might have about you. We will also try to help you understand any information you do not understand (e.g., short forms, technical language, etc.). We will need to confirm your identity, if we do not know you, before providing you with this access. We reserve the right to charge a nominal fee for such requests.
If there is a problem, we may ask you to put your request in writing. If we cannot give you access, we will tell you within 30-days if at all possible and tell you the reason, as best we can, as to why we cannot give you access.
If you believe there is a mistake in the information, you have the right to ask for it to be corrected. This applies to factual information and not to any professional opinions we may have formed. We may ask you to provide documentation that our files are wrong. Where we agree that we made a mistake, we will make the correction and notify anyone to whom we sent this information. If we do not agree that we have made a mistake, we will still agree to include in our file a brief statement from you on the point and we will forward that statement to anyone else who received the earlier information.
SMS POLICY AND DISCLOSURE
No mobile information will be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
• When becoming a patient or client at StoneRMT, you are provided the option to opt in or opt out to SMS reminders or text messages in your JaneApp profile account.
• You can Reply Stop to Opt-out of messaging -- we will ensure to turn off SMS for you on your JaneApp profile account.
• Reply Help for Customer Care Contact Information.
DO YOU HAVE A QUESTION?
Our Founder and Clinic Manager, Mellissa Stone, can be reached at:
161 King St E,
Bowmanville
Ontario
L1C 1N9
If you wish to make a formal complaint about our Privacy Practices, you may make it in writing to our Information Officer. He will acknowledge receipt of your complaint; ensure that it is investigated promptly and that you are provided with a formal written decision with reasons.
If you have a concern about the professionalism or competence of our services or the mental or physical capacity of any of our professional staff, we would ask you to discuss those concerns with us. However, if we cannot satisfy your concerns, you are entitled to complain to our regulatory body.
For more general inquiries, the information and Privacy Commissioner of Canada oversees the administration of the privacy legislation in the private sector. The Commissioner also acts as a kind of ombudsman for privacy disputes. The information and Privacy Commissioner can be reached at:
Ontario
Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of Ontario
2 Bloor Street East, Suite 1400
Toronto, Ontario M4W 1A8
Phone: (416) 326-3333
Toll-free: 1 (800) 387-0073 (free within Ontario)
Email: info@ipc.on.ca
Web Site: http://www.ipc.on.ca/